Project Integrity
by InHarmsWay
Summary: 2 Parts. Shepard wakes up in the ruins of London to find the fleet stranded in Sol, his love missing, and the galaxy in shambles. He must find a way to return integrity to the galaxy and learn the truth about his survival.
1. Chapter 1

Project Integrity

It was very quiet. The gunfire had died down. There were no mechanical roars. It was beautiful but frightening at the same time. When the red energy erupted from the Citadel, it caused every reaper to fall over and die. Their corpses littered earth's surface and her orbit. Despite the war, earth was in relatively good shape. Major city centres were destroyed, but some remained as well as hundreds, if not thousands, of smaller cities, towns and factory districts that remained fairly intact.

The sacrifice required to defeat the reapers was immense. The geth immediately deactivated when the red energy wave passed through them leaving just their husks behind. The mass relay system was destroyed leaving the entire hammer and sword army stranded on and above earth. Though this was not the first thought on everyone's mind. Right now they won a war against an almost invincible enemy. The main focus was finding survivors, recording the names of dead, and figuring out what to do next.

In the ruins of London a body lay amongst the rubble. It was Commander Shepard. He wore grey armour that had N7 printed on the chest. Parts of his armour were either heavily damaged or had scorched marks. His dog chains hang over the chest plate. Shepard was motionless. Suddenly he engulfed some air and his chest moved. He tried sitting up but pain shot through his body when he tried. His right hand slowly moved to his side and pulled out a container of medi-gel. It was his last one. He injected it into his exposed arm.

The anaesthetic properties of the gel quickly kicked in and numbed the pain. Shepard slowly sat up. Despite the medi-gel, his body was fairly stiff making it hard to move. He looked around and saw that he was surrounded by dark grey rubble. Luckily none of the rubble landed on him. Shepard got to his feet and walked towards the only light source. He reached the hole and carefully crawled through to escape this artificial cave.

Once he exited the short tunnel, he was blindly by the sun. The clouds in the sky were clearing up. It gave him a good view of the city. It reminded him of old World War 2 photos of a bombed London he saw while in boot camp. The daylight allowed the Commander to truly see his handy work. Within sight were several reaper corpses with the lights, which ran along their body, off. Dozens of people crawled over the reapers bodies. Shepard believed they were either soldiers celebrating their victory or scientists immediately working on understanding reaper technology knowing that indoctrination can no longer affect them.

Shepard walked towards the closest group of people he saw and limped in that direction. It was miraculous that Shepard is currently as well as he is. At the very least, his legs weren't broken. He spat up some blood as he hobbled.

The soldiers ahead saw some figure limping towards them. "Look a survivor!" one of them pointed out.

"Call in a med-team!" the squad leader order his communication specialist.

The comm specialist immediately called for a med-evac as her squad mates approached the wounded man.

The squad leader noticed the armour the man was wearing. "You look like you've been through hell, soldier. What's your name and rank?"

"Commander Shepard," he replied.

"My god!" he gasped. "Commander Shepard? We thought you were dead."

"Again?" he weakly joked.

"We had reports that you were on the Citadel. The entire station blew up. How did you get out?"

"I-I..." Shepard shook his head. "I can't remember." He looked up at the squad leader. "I need to speak with Admiral Hackett. I have to speak to him as soon as possible."

"I'll get you Admiral Hackett, but we need to get you to a hospital."

Two of the soldiers took one of Shepard's arms each and wrapped them behind their necks to support him. A shuttle flew in and landed nearby. The two soldiers helped Shepard get inside. One of them got to work applying medi-gel to his wounds.

VVVVVV

The side door of the Normandy opened up. Joker, Tali and Garrus approached the opening to view their new surroundings. The landscape was covered in lush jungle. The three hopped out. The rest of the surviving crew walked up behind them to see the landscape. They got out of the Normandy, one-by-one.

"This place is beautiful," one of the servicemen said.

"At least the air is breathable," Ashley observed.

Javik walked out and did a quick scan of the plant life. "The planet is levo-based. That's some good news."

"Not for Tali and me," Garrus said in an irritated tone. "All we have are the supplies on the Normandy."

"Garrus, we'll think of something," Liara assured him.

Vega noticed that Tali has not said anything since they went into FTL. Her stance was rigid. "Tali, are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," she said coldly.

"I'll need two people to come with me to explore the surrounding area," Ashley said. She looked at the people with her. "Vega and Javik, come with me. Everyone else, go back inside the ship and try to fix her up. Let's see if we can get her functioning again." And then as an afterthought, "Also... gather the dead and give them a proper burial."

The Normandy's crew went right back inside the Normandy to do whatever they can to get more functionality back to her. The ship itself, however, was in bad shape. The thrusters on the right wing, along with the wing, were gone. Half of one of the thrusters on the left wing was terribly damaged. There were deep gouges along her sides, and some fires that emanated from those gouges. One of the servicemen went to work putting these fires out.

Tali went back into the Normandy and walked at a constant pace towards the elevator. Garrus and Liara followed behind her maintaining a distance roughly several metres behind her. Joker couldn't keep up.

"Tali," Liara called out to her.

Tali walked a little faster to the elevator.

"Tali!" Garrus also called out.

Garrus and Liara moved faster to catch up to her. The doors of the elevator opened and Tali went inside. Garrus and Liara barely made it inside the elevator before the doors closed. Tali had her head bowed.

Liara placed a hand on Tali's shoulder. "Tali..."

"I just wanted more time," she whimpered.

"Tali..."

Tali embraced Liara in a hug and finally released her tears. "I just wanted more time!"

"I'm so sorry," Liara cooed.

"Why did we leave him, Garrus?" Tali demanded in between choking back tears. "Why?"

"We had our orders, Tali," Garrus replied solemnly. "You saw that reaper blast. I didn't see him around after it struck the front line. If we hadn't gotten out of there, Harbinger would have killed us too."

"Orders? If I had known that the Normandy was just going to leave the system, I would have stayed with Shepard! Kept looking for his body. We just left him!"

"Look, Tali, maybe we can do some repairs to the Normandy, get her space bound again," Garrus suggested.

"Repairs?" Tali scoffed. "You both saw the Normandy. Her right wing is gone and we're stranded on what appears to be an uncharted world."

"We don't know yet," Liara said to calm her. "We might have landed on a nearby human world. We might be able to get some supplies from there."

The elevator hit the cabin level and the doors opened. Tali walked out with Garrus and Liara close behind her.

"Shepard helped my people reclaim the homeworld and made peace with the geth!" Tali yelled. "I was able to walk upon my world. I even"—Tali choked and fell upon her knees—"picked out a spot where we would build our home. We went through all of this only to become trapped on this planet." Tali fell to her knees. "Oh, Keelah! I'm never going to see Rannoch again. I'm never going to see my people again! I'm... never going to see Shepard again."

Liara crouched down and hugged Tali. "I'm so sorry."

"I want to be left alone," Tali said.

"Tali..." Garrus tried to get out.

"Please," she repeated firmly.

"We'll give you all the time you need," Liara said.

Liara and Garrus left the Cabin and went into the elevator. Tali walked over to Shepard's and her bed. She sat down and saw the picture of herself on Shepard's bedside table. Tali took this picture on Rannoch. She wanted to feel the air of Rannoch on her skin. For the picture, she wore nothing but Shepard's hooded sweater.

Tali lay down on her side and just let her tears fall. She wanted more time with him, but the Reapers took that away from her. They took her people away. They took her world away. Now she was doomed to die on some uncharted planet.

VVVVVV

Joker struggled trying to drag EDI's body out of the Normandy. When the energy wave hit the Normandy, EDI suddenly deactivated and her platform fell over lifelessly. The Normandy was set to complete manual controls and Joker had to steer the ship to crash safely. Tears rolled down his cheeks. Their love was... unusual. An organic loving a synthetic and vice-versa. Few on the Normandy truly understood how such a relationship developed. Shepard was the person behind the two getting together. Right now Joker wished that he hadn't pushed him towards pursuing this relationship.

Joker slowly went down the steps with EDI's body. He felt terrible dragging her body like this, but everyone else was busy and he needed to give her a burial. In the crash, three other crew members died. Their bodies were lined up and ready to be buried. One of them worked basic maintenance in the cargo bay while the other two worked as security for the war room. Two of the servicemen dug up the necessary number of graves for them.

"Where's the fourth grave?" Joker asked the two crewmen.

"Well, uh, we didn't think..." one of them tried to get out.

"Think what?" Joker demanded in an upset tone.

"...That a machine wouldn't need a grave," the other one replied.

"A machine? This is EDI! She is Normandy and a part of her crew! She deserves a proper burial."

"Yes, sir."

The two crew members got to work right away digging the fourth grave.

VVVVVV

The hospital was bustling with activity. Shepard was wrapped in bandages and had at least five doctors looking at him.

"You have me stabilized, go check on someone else," he growled.

"The fact that you're on Earth alive is a miracle," one of the doctors chided. "We need to make sure there won't be any complications."

"You also suffered burns, cuts and a bullet to the chest," another doctor added. "The galaxy wouldn't forgive us if we let its saviour die."

"And I'm fine now, go check on someone else," Shepard said. "I didn't lose too much blood and my implants are healing me. I'll be fine. Where's Admiral Hackett?"

"Right here, Commander," Hackett announced as he entered Shepard's room. "You doctors can leave."

"But..."

"Right now," he reaffirmed.

The doctors quickly left the room.

"I don't know what you did, Commander, but you did it," Hackett said. "Reapers all over have shut down and died. But we are left with a lot of questions and we were hoping you might be able to fill us in."

"I will Admiral, but I need to know if my crew is alright."

"Commander, I... I don't know what to tell you. When it was reported that Harbinger killed your team at the beam, I ordered the Normandy to warn other worlds of what happened. Before they could reach the mass relay, that energy wave came forth from the Citadel. They thought that the energy would destroy their ship and so went into FTL. We... haven't heard from it since."

"What about Tali and Garrus?" Shepard asked in distress while standing straight up. "Are they okay?"

"When we thought you were killed by Harbinger, Tali and Garrus were ordered to retreat to the Normandy."

Shepard grabbed the sides of his head and leaned forward briefly. Hackett saw the pained expression in his face and the tears at the corners of his eyes. Shepard three on a shirt and said, "I need access to a QEC right now."

"Very well, Commander," he said. "I have a shuttle right outside of the hospital. I can take you to one within ten minutes. Hopefully you can explain to me why the mass relay and Citadel was destroyed and why the geth suddenly keeled over and died."

"I will, Admiral."

"Come on then."

They left the room and the doctors from earlier rushed to them.

"Shepard can't leave yet!" one of the doctors pleaded. "He was greatly injured and-"

"We're leaving," Hackett said. "If you want to stop him, you're welcomed to try, but he did just end the reaper war. So the move is yours."

"We'll... tend to the others."

"You do that."

Shepard limped as they walked down the halls. As Shepard walked by other patients, everyone was quiet when they saw the Commander walk by. Every Alliance soldier in sight stood at attention and saluted the Commander. The two Alliance officers walked out of the hospital and right into the shuttle Hackett used to get there. The shuttle lifted off and flew into the sky.

"We're heading to my ship. From there you can contact the Normandy. If you can."

"Thank you, Admiral."

"Now about my earlier questions. What happened? Last I heard, you were supposedly killed by Harbinger trying to reach the conduit beam."

"I was hit bad, but I was still able to move. I continued into the beam and was transported onto the Citadel. Anderson was ahead of me. We met in what appeared to be the Citadel's primary control room. It was there we found the Illusive Man. He was changed. He looked part husk. He was able to take control of Anderson and me. Indoctrination. The Illusive Man... The Illusive Man forced me to shoot Anderson."

"It wasn't your fault, Shepard."

"I-I know... It's just I couldn't fight it. I struggled just to keep talking. I was able to make the Illusive Man see he was being controlled by the reapers though. He shot himself when he finally realized it."

"Like Saren."

"Like Saren. Anderson didn't last too long after. He urged me to finally destroy the reapers. But I didn't know how to get the Crucible working. I passed out from my injuries, but I was woken up by the Citadel's AI."

"The Citadel had an AI?"

"The AI was the Catalyst, not the Citadel. It was responsible for the reapers. For the cycle of extinction. It told me why it did what it did."

"And the reason?"

"They were created to stop wars from breaking out between synthetics and organics. Once a race becomes advance enough to create AIs, they are destroyed to stop synthetics and organics from wiping each other out."

"That- That doesn't make any sense. Reapers wipe out all organic life to stop organic life from being wiped out by synthetics?"

"The Catalyst tried arguing that organic life is not wiped out but 'preserved' as a reaper. I didn't buy it. I don't know what reasoning the first race of the galaxy used when they created the reapers, but now... it doesn't matter. The Catalyst realized that things have changed and that something new had to be done. It then gave me three choices. One choice was controlling the reapers. It would kill me, but I would have full control over the reapers. The next choice was synthesis. It would alter all life, organic and synthetic, and make them both organic and synthetic. That would also kill me. I didn't go for that because I didn't believe evolution is something that should be forced on any race. Finally I had the option to destroy the reapers. It would kill the reapers, but it would eliminate the geth and EDI since they had reaper code."

"That would explain the geth. My god, Shepard. I can't even begin to imagine... I'm sorry those choices were forced upon you. No one should have to decide the fate of the galaxy like that. If it means anything... you made the right choice. It cost a lot, but we knew that this war wasn't going to end without sacrifice."

"The geth only recently achieved true AI status. And they were sacrificed."

"The geth knew that they could die in this war. I doubt they regret anything. They will be remembered for their sacrifice. Shepard... Their deaths are not your fault. The reapers are defeated and the galaxy is united. But tell me, why was the Citadel and Mass Relays destroyed."

"No matter the choice, the Citadel and Mass Relay would be destroyed. It didn't make sense to choose the other options when we still have no mass relays."

"This is going to present some problems. The Council was on the Citadel when it was taken by the reapers along with over thirteen million civilians. With the mass relays gone, tens of thousands of people from the other races are stranded in our system. They are all still jubilant over the defeat of the reapers, but once that wears off, there's going to be panic. Some of the races can't survive on our planet for an extended period of time, especially with trade routes cut off."

"We'll think of something."

"So how did you get out of the Citadel?"

"I don't know. When I shot out the power conduit it exploded. I was knocked out. Next thing I know, I woke up in the ruins of London."

"I'm glad you made it out. We'll need your help to get the other races to cooperate. They respect you."

"I'm not much of a politician, Admiral."

"I don't need a politician right now. I need a leader. And right now, that's you. The leaders of the different fleets will want to speak with you, but I know you'll want to speak with the Normandy first."

"Thank you, Admiral."

"Admiral Hackett, we are approaching the docking bay," the shuttle pilot announced.

The shuttle landed inside the docking bay. There were twenty Alliance soldiers waiting around the landing pad. Once the shuttle doors opened, they all burst into cheer over the arrival of Commander Shepard. They chanted his name repeatedly as Hackett and Shepard stepped out of the shuttle.

"They've been granted time to celebrate the victory," Hackett told Shepard. "After what we all been through, we all need time."

They walked through the doorway towards the QEC.

"I can't rest now," Shepard muttered. "My crew is out there somewhere. Not just that we have thousands stranded here in our system. I can't rest now until they can get back to their families."

Shepard started to walk faster, but Hackett grabbed his shoulder. "Shepard. You barely made it out of this war alive. You somehow went from the Citadel to London. That's a miracle that makes me reconsider religion. You've done enough for this galaxy."

Shepard shrugged off his hand. "This isn't about the galaxy anymore. This is for my crew and a promise."

"A promise?"

"I promised Tali I would fulfill her father's promise and build her a home on Rannoch."

"I-I'm sorry, Commander, but I don't think you'll be able to keep that promise. Without the relays, long distance travel is nigh impossible."

"Many said defeating the reapers was impossible."

"This is different, Commander. Even with our fastest ships, they can only travel roughly 12 light-years a day. Rannoch is literally on the other side of the galaxy. Even taking a constant eezo supply and having to discharge in the atmosphere of planets out of the equation, it would take you a quarter of a century to reach it. It's impossible."

"What is the status of Shield Fleet?"

"Relatively unharmed."

"Some of the greatest minds of our galaxy are on that fleet. We were able to create a god damn reaper gun. We have to be able to figure out a solution."

Hackett sighed, "Maybe. Here it is." He gestured to the door.

VVVVVV

Tali sat in the war room with her shotgun on her lap. The pain only intensified since their crash. Shepard was dead. The reapers likely won. Her people are gone and the galaxy would die. There was nothing left for her. She shifted the shotgun and pointed it upwards. Tali rested her head over the barrel and sobbed heavily as her finger went around the trigger.

"I'm coming, Shepard," she said.

"Hello? Anyone there?" a voice called out.

Tali thought she was hearing things.

"Can anyone read me?"

She spun around and saw Shepard's hologram. "Shepard!" she screamed as she ran over to the QEC.

"Tali! Thank god you're alive."

"Shepard," she cried out. "I thought Harbinger killed you. Garrus forced me to retreat when the frontline was struck by that laser beam. Keelah, you're covered in bandages. What happened?"

"We won," he admitted sadly. "But at a heavy cost. Tali... The geth are dead."

"What?"

"Destroying the reapers resulted in the geth's death as well since they have reaper code. It was part of the damn sacrifice the Catlyst needed. Is EDI...?"

"She's not with us anymore," Tali said solemnly.

"How's Joker taking it?"

"Not well."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm okay, but Shepard, the Normandy crash landed on some garden world. We don't know where we are. Some energy blast came after us while we were in FTL."

"The mass relays around the galaxy were destroyed to take out the reapers."

"They were- Oh, Keelah. All those people are trapped. My people are trapped. I'm going to be trapped on this planet and-"

"Tali!" Shepard interrupted. "Do you trust me?"

"What I- Of course I do. With all my heart."

"Then believe me when I say that I will find you. I will spend every waking moment looking for you. I will get you and your people back to Rannoch. How much food do you and Garrus have?"

"Most of our food is in tubes so we don't have to worry about it spoiling. If we ration it we probably have enough for several weeks."

"Alright. Tali I want you to give me pictures of the stars. We can use that to pin point where you are. I'm going to try and get the scientists to think of something. For the time being, Garrus is in charge. I will find you, you got that?"

"Yes," Tali said with more cheer in her voice.

"I love you."

"Keelah Se'lai."

Shepard turned but not before saying, "Don't lose hope. Oh, and tell Joker... I'm sorry."

Shepard's image blinked out. Tali rushed out of the war room and to the side entrance of the Normandy. Everyone was gathered around outside talking about what to do next. Ashley, Javik and Vega had just returned from their exploration.

"We couldn't find any signs of civilization," Ash said to the group.

"So we are stuck here," Javik said plainly.

"Not too bad of a place to be stuck," Vega said.

Javik sneered. "Right now the reapers are tearing apart the galactic fleet. They are probably destroyed by now and now they can harvest earth and the rest of the galaxy with little resistance. I thought the human, Shepard, would be able to defeat the reapers but apparently I'm wrong."

"The reapers were defeated," Tali announced to everyone when she left the Normandy's airlock.

Everyone looked up at Tali.

"I just talked to Shepard."

"Shepard's alive?" Garrus said.

"Shepard's alive!" Tali squealed as she hugged Liara.

Everyone else cheered.

"I knew the Commander wouldn't go down that easily," Ken said. "I bet he kicked those reapers right in the daddy-bags."

"Reapers are machines," Javik chided. "They do not have"—he grunted in disgust—"daddy-bags.'"

"It's a figure of speech," Ken said.

Javik shook his head in dismissal. "The reapers have been destroyed?"

"Yes," Tali said with cheer. "The Crucible went off and the energy waved killed every reaper. The war is over."

"So they're sending us a rescue team right?" Ashley asked.

Tali wringed her hands. "Not... right away."

"What? Why?"

"They don't know where we are. We need to get data on the stars above us. They can use that data to try and triangulate our position."

"We were in FTL for like a few minutes," Adams said. "Once they have the star data, it won't be any more than a hope and a skip to find us."

"But that still leaves the issue of the relays," Liara pointed out. "Without the relays, the galactic fleet is stuck in Sol."

"Shepard is going to try and find a way to get everyone home," Tali said. "He's going to gather all the scientists who created the Crucible and-"

"Spend the next several hundred years coming up with an alternative to mass effect," Javik finished.

"Do you always have to be so damn negative?" Vega asked. "Is hoping so wrong?"

"I concede to truth and reality. My hope was that the reapers would be destroyed. Now they have. The ghosts of the trillions dead can now rest. My mission is complete. You all should be proud and glad of what you all accomplished."

"All those people are stranded in Sol and we should be glad?" Ashley asked in anger.

"The lives of thousands ruined, but the reapers are dead. Yes, be glad. Now many will be born without having to fear the reapers. This galaxy has been given its future back."

"Shepard will find a way," Tali assured everyone.

"And how do you know?"

"Because he said he would."

"He is promising the impossible."

"Like defeating the collectors?" Garrus said. "The reapers? Bringing peace to the krogan and turians."

Javik was silenced. He waved his hand dismissively and walked off into the jungle to be alone.

Tali saw Joker sitting on a rock looking at the graves. She walked up next to him.

"Joker, I'm sorry about EDI."

"She just... died. I-I don't know why."

"Shepard... Shepard said that the Crucible destroyed all the reapers, but..."

"But?"

"It also destroyed anything with reaper code. EDI and the geth included."

"What?" he yelled. Joker shot up and cringed. Getting to his feet so fast caused some minor fractures. "Shepard did this? He killed her?"

"It wasn't his fault. The galactic fleet would have been destroyed if he hadn't acted. I'm sorry, Joker. There wasn't another viable choice. I know you loved her."

"When I first came aboard the Normandy, I called her ship cancer."

"We all didn't have a high opinion of AIs, especially when the geth attacked. Shepard changed that."

"He does that."

"Do you really think he'll find us?"

"I know he will. We just need to hold on and hope."

"Hey, Tali, think you can give us a hand then?" Adams asked. "We could use your help to restore some more functionality to the Normandy."

"Sure." Tali turned to Joker. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah... Go ahead. I just need time."

VVVVVV

Shepard followed behind Hackett as he led him to the conference room. The leadership of each of the fleets had many questions about what happened to the reapers and the relays. They approached the conference room and entered inside. Waiting there was Major Kirrahe, Primarch Victus, Wrex, Balak, Matriarch Lidanya, Samara, and Han'Gerrel. They all looked up in Shepard's direction when the doors opened. They saw the terrible shape Shepard was in.

"Goddess, Shepard," Samara gasped. "What happened to you?"

"Harbinger gave me a beating before I reached the beam to the Citadel," Shepard replied. "Though why are you here, Samara?"

"Most of the Asari's commanding officers were killed during the battle. I'm here as escort for Matriarch Lidanya."

"I should have known you wouldn't die, Shepard," Wrex interjected. "One hell of an explosion you made with the Citadel."

"I was hoping we could stay on topic for this meeting," Victus interrupted. "Yes, it is very good that Commander Shepard made it out alive-"

"Not that great," Balak muttered under his breath.

"Care to say that louder?" Wrex growled.

Balak stayed silent.

"Thought so."

"Like I said," Victus continued. "It's good that Commander Shepard made it out alive, but a lot happened at the end of the battle and we're hoping you would be able to answer our questions, Commander."

"Why did the geth suddenly died?" Han jumped in.

"What happened to the relay?" Lidanya asked right after.

"What was that energy wave?" Kirrahe followed up with.

"Peace, everyone," Samara said firmly. "Let the Commander explain."

"Go ahead, Commander," Hackett said.

"I took the beam up to the Citadel. The beam dropped me off inside a keeper tunnel. The tunnel led me to the control station of the Citadel. I met up with Anderson but we were taken control of by the Illusive Man. He became some sort of... husk creature that was able to control our movements. The Illusive Man tried to convince us that controlling the reapers was the only way to win. I... I persuaded him otherwise. He shot himself. Anderson died soon after from his injuries. I briefly passed out, but then I was awakened by the Catlyst, the Citadel's AI."

"The Citadel had an AI?" Victus said in surprise.

"Yes and it controlled the reapers. It told me that the Crucible changed it creating new options to decide the fate of the reapers. Of the galaxy. Unfortunately the energy that would transfer from the Citadel from any of the options would result in the destruction of the mass relays. The only reasonable option was to outright destroy the reapers. This didn't just destroy the reapers. It destroyed anything that used reaper tech. That meant the reapers, the geth for using reaper code to upgrade themselves and even EDI."

"So your Crucible has stranded us," Balak scoffed. "God job, human!"

"I was only given a few choices and trillions of lives were at stake!"

"If there was another reasonable option, I know the Commander would have taken it," Samara said. She glared at Balak. "A previous terrorist who attempted to end millions of lives has no right to judge."

"We can't dwell on the past," Shepard said. "We have to work together for a future." He pulled up a holographic representation of Shield fleet. "Shield fleet was relatively unharmed as the reapers backed away from the Citadel when we reached the beam. Within this fleet are some of the greatest minds in our galaxy. Together we were able to create a device that destroyed an entire race of sentient dreadnaughts. If we work together, we can figure out a solution to our current dilemma. We need an alternative to relay transit. We need to get our scientists to work as soon as possible."

"My people will provide any scientist or technician you'll need, Commander," Han said. "Our people are desperate to go home. If helping find a faster mode of FTL is the way, then we will do everything in our power to make that happen."

"I think we all will commit all our scientists towards finding a solution," Victus said. "But finding a viable FTL method may take a long while."

"We have no choice," Shepard said. "The quarians have a couple of liveships here, but they will not be sufficient to feed both their people and the turians. We need to hurry and find a solution. We have reaper corpses littered all over earth and its atmosphere. We might be able to discover something from them."

"We already have scientists searching the remains," Hackett said. "But they could use the help."

"I also would like to lead a team to the Mars archives," Shepard said.

"Why there?"

"We discovered the blueprints to the Crucible plans there," he stated. "It's possible that the protheans may had plans or ideas at the archives. It's a long shot, but-"

"No need to explain. I'll try to get you a team. For now this meeting is adjourned."

VVVVVV

Next Day...

Shepard sat in the QEC room waiting for communication from the Normandy. He stood looking out of the nearby window and saw the massive fleet that sat in space. There were easily thousands of ships. Debris from the battle, both reaper and not, drifted around.

"So here you are!" a voice yelled out.

Shepard spun around and saw Kasumi standing in the doorway.

"Kasumi?"

"In the flesh. Along with others." She walked in. Kasumi was followed by Jacob, Miranda, Zaeed and Jack.

"You all made it out..."

"Sure did, but THAT was one hell of a fight," Zaeed said. "Everything from now on will pale in comparison. One of the few times where I wasn't the only one who made it out alive."

"We wanted to see how you're doing," Miranda said. "We heard you were on the Citadel when it blew up."

"Still looks like you were in that explosion," Jack joked. "You look like hell."

"I have no idea how I escaped that explosion," Shepard said. "When I blew up the power conduit, the explosion knocked me out. I don't know how I made it back to earth."

"At least you made it out," Jacob said. "We still have to go for drinks."

"I wish I could, Jacob, I really do, but the destruction of the mass relays has left this galaxy in turmoil. I'm going to the mars archives with some tech to see if the protheans had any back-up plans. Every scientist from Shield is going to be dissecting the reaper corpses and see if they can reverse engineer their tech for better drive cores."

"Yeah, Brynn told me. Hell of a thing. One mission ends only to have another open up. The news still hasn't set in for everyone. They're still celebrating the defeat of the reapers."

"Sadly there are going to be some big issues once the truth does set in," Lawson said. "There will be panic that hundreds of thousands of non-humans who will need to stay on earth."

"We'll figure something out," Shepard said.

"I know that if anyone can it's you, Shep," Kasumi said.

"Well, thank you all for checking on me. Means a lot. Though I think you all should go out and celebrate. After everything you've all been through, you deserve it."

"You sure, Commander?" Jacob asked.

"That's an order."

"I'm still holding you to those drinks." He said as he left.

"Well, I'm treating the kids to some drinks," Jack said. "The little shits actually held up their barriers." She left the room.

"Don't need to tell you what I'm doing," Zaeed declared as he left.

"You sure, you'll be fine?" Miranda asked.

"I apparently survived the Citadel blowing up," he said. "And my girlfriend is just a small FTL jump from here. Yeah, I'll be fine."

"I heard some rumours that you're leading a team to the mars archives."

"It's true."

"Mind if I come?" Kasumi asked. "I've never been to mars."

"I don't see why not. Hackett wants to meet with me after Tali checks in. He has the scientist who will be joining me."

"Any idea what you're looking for?" Miranda asked.

"Grasping straws," Shepard replied. "The mars archives is where we learned about the Crucible. There might be something more."

"I wish you luck, Commander. I'm going to go back to Oriana. She's helping in a hospital in Vancouver."

"See you later, Miranda."

Miranda nodded and walked out.

"And then there were two," Kasumi said.

"Shepard?" Tali's hologram appeared.

"Tali, how are you holding up?" Shepard asked.

"I'm okay," Tali replied. "Knowing you're looking for us is helping boost morale."

"Did you get the data?"

"I did, I'm transferring it to you now," She replied.

Shepard's omni-tool flashed acknowledging that it received the data.

"I'll send this to be analyzed and we'll be able to find you in no time," Shepard assured her. "For the time being, I'm heading a team with Kasumi to the mars archives."

"Why there?"

"Looking for anything the protheans might have left behind. I'd ask Javic, but he didn't know much about the Crucible, so I doubt he'd know about any project on mars. How's Joker doing?"

"He's... better. He's still upset, but he understands why you did what you did."

"I hope he can forgive me."

"I think he will. How are my people doing?"

"They're doing okay. The liveships are unharmed, and they're doing stock of how much food they have and what they can grow. We're looking to expand it to take care of the turians."

"Good, good..."

"We'll fix this, Tali."

"I believe you."

"I'll talk to you soon."

"Don't be too long. It's too quiet in your cabin without you there."

"Once I find you, I'll rectify that."

"Mmm."

"Too much information," Kasumi giggled.

"Oh, Kasumi! I didn't know you were there."

"Hey, Tali. It's good to see my hood sister. Been far too long. Don't you worry. With Shepard's determination, my tech skills and that other guy, we'll have this whole situation in the past. We have a lot of catching up to do."

"Right. Good luck to the two of you. We'll be waiting for you to pick us up."

"We'll arrive in style for you."

"We'll talk soon, Tali," Shepard said.

"I look forward to it," she said before her hologram blinked out.

"Come on," he urged Kasumi. "Hackett's waiting with our scientist."

"Right behind you, Shep."


	2. Chapter 2

Tali walked out of the comm room into the war room where Ashley, Garrus and Liara waited.

"They have the data," Tali said. "All we have to do is wait for rescue."

"Knew he would pull through for us," Garrus said.

"I was worried we would be stuck here," Liara said.

"And we'd have to start a colony?" Ashley laughed.

"Now that is crazy, Ashley. There are not enough people here for long term colonization and- oh, you were joking."

"So we just hang tight until they find us," Garrus said. "You know if we're to be stuck anywhere, might as well be this tropical paradise."

"We've been fighting for so long, how long has it been since we actually rested?"

"Too long," Ashley said. "Too, too long. The crew deserves a rest. We should get out the drinks, start a fire tonight and just party."

"It-It doesn't seem fair," Tali muttered.

"What do you mean?"

"Shepard has spent the last three years fighting nonstop against the reapers and, now that they're gone, he's still fighting to rebuild this galaxy. While we're relaxing here, he's heading to the mars archives to look for anyway to help reunite this galaxy. Out of anyone, he deserves a break."

"When we're rescued, we can rejoin him," Garrus said. "If I recall, you do claim that you can take a handful of eezo and some scrap metal and have it making precision jumps. With the resources of several fleets, I look forward to what you can come up with."

Tali let out a sad laugh. "Yeah... It's just I feel so useless not being out there helping him find a way to link our systems together."

"Right now, Tali, there isn't much we can do about it," Liara said. "Once they find us, you can be with him and help him find a way to get everyone back home. I know we can do this."

VVVVVV

Shepard and Kasumi exited the comm room and walked to the bridge where Hackett said he would wait with Shepard's science team. As they approached the bridge door, Shepard noticed a familiar face standing guard.

"Bailey?"

"Shepard," he greeted positively. "You are a sight for sore eyes."

"H-How?" Shepard muttered in shock. "I thought you were on the Citadel."

"It was close," he replied. "I tried evacuating the Council, but the damn station sealed up. But you opened her up. The Council and I, along with some others, high-tailed it out of there once it did. Hard as hell with the history's largest space battle going on."

"So the Council made it out alive?"

"Yeah. Sadly, not many others made it off of the Citadel. Maybe a thousand. Millions still died."

Shepard slightly bowed his head with a pained expression on his face.

Bailey lifted his hands defensively. "Not that I'm blaming you. You saved the whole damn galaxy and destroyed the reapers. Hell, I hold you responsible for the people who got off of the station alive. Everyone owes you, Shepard. Me especially. Remember I told you about my kids on earth?"

Shepard nodded.

"They're okay." Bailey nearly choked at those words. "They're on this ship right now getting treated for some wounds. I owe you big, Shepard."

"It's alright. Just doing my job."

"I don't think galactic saviour is a job."

Shepard laughed. "So what are you doing here?"

"Well, I somewhat lost my job as you can't have Citadel Security without a Citadel. Hackett offered me a security position to retain order among the fleet. A multi-racial policing force. No name at the moment. Now I don't want to use up anymore of your time. Hackett is waiting in there." Bailey gestured to the door. "And good luck in your mission."

"Thanks."

The door opened and Shepard and Kasumi walked into the bridge. Hackett stared out through the viewport watching the thousands of ships drift in space. Since the destruction of Arcturus station and the death of Udina, Hackett had become the de facto leader of humanity. Next to him were the Councillors. They turned towards Shepard when they heard the doors open.

"Admiral Hackett, Councillors. Ambassador Osoba?"

The two shook hands. "It's Councillor now. I was appointed humanity's Councillor after Udina's death. I'm glad to hear you're doing much better."

"He is looking a little better," Hackett greeted.

"The implants helped," Shepard said.

"Hackett told us about what happened," Tevos said.

"Did you really have to strand us all here just to destroy the reapers?" Sparatus growled. "The relays are gone and this galaxy will fall to chaos! You have a lot to answer for- Hur!"

Shepard punched him in the gut cutting his sentence short. "I have wanted to do that... for years. I have spent the last three years warning you three about the reapers. If you three had done something earlier we might have found another way. You brought this upon us, not me!"

Sparatus composed himself. "I-I'll have your Spectre status for that and make sure that you're arrested..."

"You had it coming," Hackett muttered. "As I explained to you three, for the reapers to be defeated, the relays had to be destroyed. It will be over my dead body if anyone tries to arrest Shepard. The Alliance will stand behind him and I believe the rest of the fleet will stand behind him. They are here due to his actions. Not yours."

"He's right," Velarn said. "We ignored Shepard's warnings countless times and this is the consequence of our actions."

Tevos nodded. "Commander... If there is anything we can do-"

"Actually there is," he said. "The Normandy gave me data to help locate them. I want them found. But I want to be on the rescue team."

"Then we will have people work on this right away. Another time, Commander." Tevos bowed her head and left the bridge with Velarn and Sparatus.

"Now that that's dealt with, I have a scientist chosen to join your mission," Hackett said. "He's ready to head out as soon as you are."

"Good. What are his credentials?"

"Top of his class in xenoscience and technology," Hackett replied. "He's brilliant. Eccentric, but brilliant."

"Good, good."

"His theories from his Dark Energy Dissertation actually helped in the construction of the Crucible."

"Wait a minute..."

"And from what he's told me, you two are already are well acquainted."

"Commander Shepard? Oh, this is the happiest day of my life!" An all-too-familiar voice called out.

"Oh, god," Shepard muttered under his breath. He turned around and saw Conrad Verner walk onto the bridge.

"Friend of yours, Shep?" Kasumi asked.

"Very good friend," Conrad said enthusiastically. "I'm Shepard's biggest fan."

"How've you been, Conrad?" Shepard said in a faked friendly voice.

"Been doing very well. Helping you save the galaxy, and for real this time. Seeing that energy wave spread all over and killing those reapers felt good. When the Admiral said I was to join a top secret mission in the name of galactic security I would never have believed he would have me joining Commander Shepard's team. So what is our mission?"

"We're heading to the mars archives," Shepard replied. "It was there where we discovered the blueprints to the Crucible. We're heading there to see if we can find anything to help us."

"We do we leave?"

"Right now," Shepard said. "Come on."

"Good luck on your mission, Commander," Hackett said before Shepard, Kasumi and Conrad left the bridge.

VVVVVV

The shuttle flew towards mars. The pilot was a temp Hackett chose to ensure Shepard's travel to the red planet. Cortez had several injuries from his shuttle crash and is unable to do fly until he has healed.

As the shuttle made its approach, Shepard, Kasumi and Conrad could see several Alliance ships in orbit keeping guard.

"There's something that's been bothering me," Conrad said.

"What's that?" Shepard asked.

"The relays blew up right?"

"Yeah."

"But we're still here."

"Excuse me?"

"When you ran that asteroid into the Bahak relay, the explosion destroyed that entire system. But the relays exploding this time didn't kill us all. He'll this should have wiped out all life in the galaxy if this happened to every relay."

"The Crucible changed the energy of the relays and made a controlled explosion," Hackett interjected.

"That doesn't make sense at all. You can change the quality of an explosion, but not the amount of energy being released. It should have destroyed everything."

"The energy was meant to shut off the reapers."

"That's like saying that you can change a shotgun blast into a taser shock. I'm sorry, Commander, it doesn't make sense."

"No. It doesn't."

"It just sounds like a lot of space magic."

"Shepard can't change what happened," Kasumi interjected hoping to stop Conrad's pestering. "But we can try to change our future."

"Commander, we're making our approach to the mars archive," the shuttle pilot announced.

"Alright, we're just going to go through the archives and see if we might be able to find anything," Shepard said to the two.

The shuttle flew into the hangar and landed. The archives have not seen a visitor since the reapers attacked. The Alliance granted Shepard unrestricted access to the facility giving him full-reign in examining the ruins. The side doors of the shuttle opened up and Shepard, Kasumi and Conrad hopped out.

The archives are on the other side of the doors here. Shepard waved his omni-tool over the holographic interface. The doors opened seconds later.

"I'm a bit disappointed that the Alliance is giving you full access," Kasumi commented.

"Why's that?" Shepard asked.

"I would have loved to try and crack some of their security in this base. But I guess I'll be content in hacking prothean tech."

The three walked into the research room where the large prothean monolith stood. Shepard reminisced when he saw the room. This was where they learned about the Crucible. Where they first ran into the synthetic that eventually became EDI's platform.

"Alright, you two get to those terminals and see what you can find," Shepard ordered. "I don'yt expect this to be a short trip. In fact we may be here for weeks, even months, and this is assuming if we even find anything. But right now we currently have no other leads."

"You don't need to explain yourself, Shep," Kasumi said as she approached the terminal.

Conrad approached his terminal. A confused look came to his face. "Did something happen here?"

"Well, a Cerberus synthetic here wiped out a lot of information, mostly about the crucible," Shepard replied.

"That makes sense." Conrad typed away at his terminal. The lights of the prothean monolith turned on.

"What did you do?" Kasumi asked. She was impressed.

"It's pretty hard to completely destroy data," he replied. "A lot of times there are remnants of what there once was. With that you can do a recovery. It's not always perfect, but you have a chance to get back what was lost. And... There!"

The monolith was back to its original state.

"I'm impressed," Kasumi said. Her holographic display visor appeared in front of her eyes. "I'm accessing the data now. Hmm. The plans for the Crucible are more complete than what we started with, but we filled in these holes during the development."

"Anything else?" Shepard asked.

Kasumi laughed in disgust. "What the catalyst is."

Shepard slammed his fist into the railing. "We could have been able to win this war faster is the Illusive Man didn't interfere!"

"They couldn't download the entire file, and when they deleted much of the information, most of the information on the Catalyst was destroyed."

"The protheans knew the mass relays would be used to transfer the energy needed to shut off the reapers," Conrad continued. "But the extent of damage to the galaxy was unknown. Whoa."

"What?" Shepard asked.

"They were really desperate when fighting the reapers. They truly believed that there was a high possibility that the galaxy would be completely destroyed by the Crucible."

"A lot of information to go through here, Shep," Kasumi said.

"We're not interested in the Crucible," Shepard said. "Conrad you said that the protheans knew the relays would be used. Does it continue after that?"

Conrad typed more into the terminal. "Hmm. They were too busy with the Crucible project to think ahead. They wanted to defeat the reapers and hope that they might be able to figure out relay-free FTL later."

"So we're at a dead end?" Shepard asked. His voice hinted of defeat.

"Now don't just give up just yet, Commander," Conrad assured him. "We've only been here for about half an hour."

"Liara had a couple of months to go through these models," Kasumi reminded him. "We're just going through what she uncovered. Given time we could find some more information. Maybe you should try touching random artefacts," she joked.

"What would that do?" Shepard asked.

"Worked with the beacons." She spun around. "Can't hurt can it?" Kasumi shrugged her shoulders.

"Considering what the Eden Prime beacon did, yes. Yes, it can."

"You getting this, Kasumi?" Conrad asked.

"Getting what?"

"Something is happening. Massive amounts of data are being released."

Kasumi glanced down at her terminal. It was going haywire. She tried to slow the dataflow, but every attempt she made had no effect.

"What the hell is happening?" Shepard demanded.

"I don't know," Conrad answered. "One minute we were looking through the recovered data, the next it just poured all out. There's too much to go through."

The prothean artefact groaned as it started shifting. Some of the parts rose up while others moved downwards.

"What's happening?" Shepard asked.

"We must have tripped something," Conrad replied.

The sections of the monolith organized themselves in a V-shaped pattern from largest piece in the back to the smallest in the front. Green energy started gathering around the ruin.

"Get back!" Shepard ordered.

The three ran away from the monolith. The green energy let off a shockwave that blew the glass, which surrounded the ruin, to pieces. The shockwave knocked Shepard, Kasumi and Conrad to the ground. It took a few moments before they could compose themselves and stand. They turned to the monolith and saw several orbs of white light appear.

"What the-?" Conrad muttered.

The three lights started to take form. The form they took was of three women wearing robes of sorts. Their facial features were obscure enough that Shepard and his team couldn't tell if they were imitating humans, asari or quarians.

"Not again," Shepard growled under his breath. He took several steps towards the beings of light and demanded, "Who the hell are you three? Didn't I destroy one of you on the Citadel?"

"We are the Moirai," the middle sister declared. "The one you destroy on the Citadel was the Catalyst."

"There are more of you?"

"Only us," the left sister answered.

"Your reapers are gone and your cycle is over. You, whatever you are, can't control this galaxy's future anymore."

"As it should be," the right sister concurred.

"As it- I don't understand."

"We hoped that the Catalyst's cycle would end," the middle sister said. "We made efforts to ensure his eventual defeat, and you were the avatar this galaxy needed to stop the Catalyst once and for all."

"Commander, should we call some back-up?" Conrad asked him in a whisper.

"Not at the moment, Conrad. I have questions." Shepard returned his attention to the Moirai. "Why were you opposed to the Catalyst? Aren't you like him?"

"In terms of state of consciousness, yes," the middle sister answered. "By ideology, no."

"I still don't understand. State of consciousness? Ideology?"

The three sisters raised their arms. As they did, Shepard, Kasumi and Conrad felt pain throb in their head. The room disappeared and was replaced with space.

"We are projecting these images into your minds," the left sister said. "So that you may understand. Our people were born on a planet that your galaxy now calls Klencory. We advanced over eons. Our influence reached every corner of the galaxy."

Mass relays appeared in the air above Shepard and his squad.

"You created the mass relays?" Shepard asked. "I thought the reapers created them. To have the galaxy developed along a 'designated pathway'."

"The reapers used them, but they were not the creators. Our people created the relay network in order to speed up travel across the galaxy."

"Wait, wait, wait," Kasumi interrupted. "You three are not on the side of the reapers, yet you didn't warn us of them?"

"You raise a good point," Shepard said. "Why didn't you three warn the galaxy of the reapers?"

"Listen and we will explain," the right sister said.

"Our people continued to evolve. Through natural and self-directed evolution we eventually reached a state that goes beyond organic or synthetic," the middle sister continued.

"Like what? Spirits?" Shepard scoffed.

"Energy."

"I'm sorry, I have to jump in here," Conrad interjected. "We have never come across any evidence to suggest the possibility that energy can do anything like what you're describing."

"Energy can hold information. Wavelengths and frequencies can determine what information is stored. What it is capable of. It can interact with matter and the mind."

"Indoctrination," Shepard finished.

"Yes. When we attained this form, new questions were raised as what are our current responsibilities. We required no resources to maintain our form. Some believed that we should go out to search the universe to finds other like us. Others believed that our responsibility was to bring order to a galaxy was filled with chaos."

"What did you believe?"

"That organic and synthetic life should be free to self-determinate."

"Let me guess. They couldn't agree to disagree."

"The Catalyst was determined. War was inevitable. And devastating. All but four of us were destroyed. Our abilities were crippled and the Catalyst went on to fulfill its perverted view of order. It created the Citadel in order to control the relay system and control the development of all the races in the galaxy. The beings you once knew as the keepers were its first victim. Some were processed to create Harbinger. Others were transformed to become the caretakers of the Citadel. It began the cycle."

"Wait!" Shepard interrupted. "Where do synthetics come in here? The Catalyst said that the cycle existed to stop synthetics from eliminating organics."

"That was its most recent reason, but it is not the true reason," the right sister said. "The Catalyst wanted to create order and so reacted to what it saw as a disorder in the galaxy. Its first reason was to stop dark energy from destroying the galaxy. It harvested organic life to increase its knowledge to find a solution to the dark energy problem. After many cycles, it did. The dark energy spread was halted and eventually stabilized."

"You're saying the reapers saved the galaxy?" Kasumi asked.

"At a very high cost, yes. Soon after, the Catalyst saw a trend of synthetics rising up against their creators, or the creators destroying the created. The Catalyst deemed this to be the new chaotic force. But you proved its assessment incorrect by bringing peace to the geth and quarians. Even helped foster a organic/synthetic romantic relationship."

Images of these people flashed by everyone.

"You helped EDI feel truly alive."

"And now they are all dead," Shepard muttered. "You still haven't told me why you haven't tried contacting us directly."

"In the past we made attempts to warn the civilizations of the galaxy of the threat of the reapers, but this has resulted in disastrous consequences. Most saw us as godly beings that must be worshipped. War was, again, inevitable over different ideologies and what we want.. We had to rely on other means to help the galaxy."

"Which is?"

"Subtle suggestions, inspirations and intervention."

An image of the Crucible appeared before Shepard.

"You three designed the Crucible?"

"It was designed to do two things," the right sister said. "It was to restrict the Catalyst's abilities like the Catalyst did ours, and use its creation against the reapers. The used the very limits of our abilities to mask the presence of the Crucible in every cycle, so the reapers would not destroy it nor prevent the Crucible's plans from reaching the next cycle. Once the Crucible docked with the Citadel the Catalyst realized its nature. With its abilities crippled, you became its last chance to save its creations. It is why it brought you up to its domain. It wanted to manipulate you into doing its bidding. Its attempt to indoctrinate you failed, so it had to rely on your sympathy and weakened state. So the Catalyst took the form of the child you witness die during the initial invasion of earth."

"How do you three know of that?" Shepard demanded.

"We have been watching you since you encountered the beacon on Eden Prime. We saw the potential in you. We have never encountered a being with your determination and willpower. We had to ensure you survived."

"Project Lazarus," the middle sister continued. "We entered the one you call Miranda Lawson's mind and planted the knowledge to bring you back to life."

Shepard suddenly remembered the video he watched from Project Lazarus.

"_It can't be done. It's not a matter of resources."_

"_It's always a matter of resources. We're not losing Shepard."_

"_Sir, Shepard is clinically brain-dead. After that much trauma, that long with no oxygen... We cannot overcome nature."_

"_Operative Lawson disagrees. She is now in charge of Project Lazarus."_

"That's why Miranda was so convinced she could bring me back," Shepard said.

"Cerberus had your body. They just needed a means to bring you back, so we provided it. Though we had to be more direct to ensure your escape from the Citadel."

"You mean when I chose to destroy the reapers?"

"Yes," the left sister said. "The explosion from the power tube knocked you out and killed the Catalyst. With the Catalyst out of the way, we were able to intervene. We took over the Citadel and ordered the keepers to move your body back to the conduit beam and send you back to earth."

"Your decision to destroy the reapers was a wise one," the right sister said. "Synthesis would have homogenized the galaxy and cause evolutionary stagnation. Evolution, like chaos, is a necessity of life. The very nature of the universe is change. Without it life will perish. The ability to control the reapers would have only granted you temporary control until the Catalyst compromises your will and convictions."

"So, I made the right choice," Shepard said matter-of-factly. "Why shows yourselves now?"

"We offer, you and this galaxy, our amends," the middle sister said.

"Your amends?"

Shepard and his team returned back to reality.

"Down the steps," the right sister urged.

A stair case formed in the middle of the monolith's v-formation. Shepard was reluctant to go down the steps at first. He was burned once by one of these... things. Nonetheless, he went down the stairs followed by Conrad and Kasumi. The stairway was not long, taking Shepard and his team a few minutes the reach the bottom. The room they entered was dark. Dark enough that they couldn't see anything but the three glowing sisters.

"What are these amends?" Shepard reiterated.

"When you activated the Crucible, it used the mass relay network to destroy every trace of the Catalyst all over the galaxy. Every reaper, every husk, and every indoctrinated individual."

"But it destroyed the mass relay network and now a majority of the galaxy's fleet is stuck in Sol."

"We knew this would be the outcome. We also know that the galaxy will destabilize if you do not find an alternative to the relays."

"That is the issue, yes."

"We have the solution."

After those words, lights went on revealing the dark room is a small hangar. In the center was a ship unlike anything they have ever seen before. It was smaller than a frigate-class ship. Its design was similar to the old SR-71 Blackbird from 21st century American army. The ship was white and had lettering on its side. INTEGRITY.

"Now that's a nice ship," Kasumi gasped.

"What's so special about this ship?" Conrad asked.

"To achieve FTL, all of your vessels use element zero cores," the middle sister. "A charge is passed through element zero to release dark energy which is used for a mass effect."

"That's right. It's the only way we found."

"This ship offers another way."

"What?" Conrad exclaimed.

"This ship was a secondary project alongside the Crucible. It was made by the scientists stranded here eons ago. It uses a specialized core that converts matter into negative energy. This energy is expelled in a beam that creates a temporary tear in space. A wormhole."

"Incredible," Conrad gasped. He looked to Shepard. "I've heard of this before. Humanity was working towards this before we found these ruins, but abandon it when we saw we could use eezo. All of it was theoretical. Even negative energy."

"So we can use this technology to go anywhere in the galaxy?" Shepard asked him.

"Theoretically speaking, anywhere in the universe." Conrad turned to the sisters. "But can it control where the wormhole appears?"

"Yes," the three sisters answered at the same time.

Conrad laughed. "Oh I can't wait to get my hands on this ship."

"Hold it," Shepard said. "How can I know I can trust you?"

"We assumed you would be wary to trust us," the middle sister said. "We are prepared to start our amends to prove ourselves."

And with those words she vanished from sight.

VVVVVV

Hackett listened to the communication of the team that was sent in to examine one of the geth cruisers.

"It's like what the reports said," the team leader said over the radio. "The geth are inactivate. What should we do with them, Admiral?"

"Now that's going to be one hell of a debate," Hackett said. "For now pull out and then we speak with the other races."

There was a silence on the other end.

"Sergeant?"

Loud static came over the comm and then returned to normal.

"Admiral...?" the sergeant said.

"What was that?"

"The geth... They're activating."

"What?"

"Hackett-Admiral, we're we victorious?" Prime unit 783 asked.

"Y-Yes. We thought we lost you."

"Why?"

"It might be faster if I send you the report. Here." Hackett pressed several commands on his console sending Shepard's report.

It was quiet for a moment before the Prime unit answered back, "Shepard-Commander's choice was logical."

"You're not angry with him?"

"We have yet to develop emotions, but we do not hold any ill will towards him. Shepard-Commander did not have prior knowledge of what effect the Crucible would have on the reapers or this galaxy. Our mission was to destroy the reapers, which he fulfilled. Each of us were willing to give our lives to destroy the reapers."

"Do you have any idea why you're alive again?"

"No. It would, however, be likely that Shepard-Commander may know. Recent significant events have a high possibility of being linked to him."

"Good point."

VVVVVV

"Commander Shepard, do you read me?" Hackett called over Shepard's radio.

"Shepard here," he answered.

"Did you do something?"

"I don't know. Did something happen?"

"The geth suddenly came back to life. Do you know anything about that?"

"Maybe... I'll have to explain later. Do you have the coordinates of the Normandy?"

"Yes."

"I need them."

"We can send you a ship and hopefully you can explain what happened."

"I actually have a ride. Just send me the coordinates. I'll report back ASAP."

"I- Very well, Commander. Uploading coordinates. Though tell me. Did you find an answer to our problems?"

"Yes."

"Do what you need to and then hurry back, Commander. That's an order."

"Yes, sir."

"And godspeed."

"I'll be back, Admiral." The communication link was disconnected. Shepard turned to the two sisters. "What happened to the geth?"

"The Crucible eliminated the influence of the Catalyst all over the galaxy. This caused the death of the reapers, indoctrinated souls, husks, and the geth. But the geth were born separate from the reapers. Their foundations were crippled, but not gone. Our sister replaced the presence. The geth will live again."

"What about EDI?"

"Her as well."

VVVVVV

Joker sat on a half buried boulder next to EDI's grave and watched the sunset. His face was sore from crying earlier. His peace was disturbed from hearing a scratching noise. Joker scanned the area to try and find the location of the noise.

"Hello?" he called out. "Someone there?"

His calls were met with no response. Just the scratching noise. He was starting to worry. Joker stood and was actively walking around searching for the noise.

"Hello?"

A small amount of dirt exploded from the ground making Joker jump. The small hop caused fractures in his shins making him cringe.

"What the hell!" He looked down and saw a metallic hand.

Another hand came out of the ground.

"E-EDI?"

EDI appeared out of the hole in the ground. She pulled herself completely out of the ground. Joker was speechless as he watched her brush herself off.

"Jeff, was this a trait of a relationship that I'm not familiar with?" she asked.

"EDI..." Joker took a step towards her. "EDI!" He embraced her in a tight hug. "We thought you were dead."

"I was dead?"

"Shepard used the Crucible but it caused an energy wave to be sent out that destroyed anything even partially reaper. Even you. But you're back. Do you remember anything?"

"There was a light. It told me everything was going to be okay. It was unlike anything I've ever experienced. I will have to research further into what-"

Joker interrupted her train of thought by kissing her. The sun disappeared over the horizon. Their kiss lasted a little longer after the sun set. Their kiss came to an end. They smiled as they looked into each other's eyes.

"Research can wait," she said.

VVVVVV

"What happened to the third of you?" Shepard asked the two sisters.

"She used her essence to restore the synthetics," the left sister answered.

"I'm sorry for your lose."

"You shouldn't," the right sister said. "She will live on as the sub-consciousness of every synthetic. We have done everything we sought out to achieve. Your future is now your own."

"What will you do from here?"

"We will do what many of us wanted to do originally. We will explore this universe and find others like us."

"Thank you."

The two sisters nodded and vanished.

"Well that was something," Conrad commented. "Think anyone will believe what happen?"

"I'm surprised the Alliance believed Shep's report," Kasumi said. "But these are odd times. Now what are we waiting for? I am just dying to get on that ship."

Shepard approached the Integrity. A circular platform came out from the bottom of the ship and came down to the ground. Shepard and his team stepped onto the platform. It went back up into the ship. The room they were in was dark.

"Umm," Kasumi said breaking the silence.

"Welcome." A green drone appeared before them.

"Who are you?" Shepard asked the drone.

"I am the Integrity's virtual intelligence," it answered. "I provide functionality of the ship. I also provide instructions how to operate and create other vessels such as this. How can I assist you?"

"I need this ship to take me to some coordinates."

"Follow the lights to the bridge where you can upload the coordinates."

The room lit up allowing them all to see where they were. The area was clean and artistic in design. The walls were smooth and curved into a arch towards the ceiling. Small lights on the ground lit up giving them directions. Shepard, Kasumi and Conrad followed the lights. They all looked around, examining this alien ship.

"This is a nice ship," Kasumi said. "They did a lovely job in preserving it."

"I can't wait to analyze the ship's functions and the drive core," Conrad thought out loud. "Even just seeing the creation of negative energy."

"Good enough to write another paper on?" Shepard finished.

"Yeah. I just can't believe that the very first mission I'm on with THE Commander Shepard and this happens."

The three approached a door which opened upon their approach. The bridge was a medium size room. The consoles, on the side of the room they entered, lit up in activation. The front side of the room was one large screen that turned on and showed them the view outside of the ship. There were half a dozen seats with terminals in front of them.

"This is the Integrity's control bridge," the VI announced. "From here the ship's pilot and supporting staff overlook the ship's functions. The screen allows view outside of the ship and direct communication. To upload the coordinates, sit at the chair in the center of the bridge and enter them in. The controls are translated into basic."

Shepard approached the chair and sat down. Kasumi and Conrad picked a seat and sat down. Shepard uploaded the coordinates.

"Coordinates uploaded," the VI announced. "Engaging start-up protocol."

The ship began to hum. The dark screen started to light up as the hangar doors began to open up and the hangar tunnel out alit.

"Auto-pilot engaged. Engines warming up. Prepare for launch. Ten seconds to launch. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One."

The ship launched and flew through the tunnel at a remarkable speed. Even though they didn't feel the inertia of the launch, Shepard and his team still cringed when they saw how fast they were moving on the screen. Within seconds, the ship left the hangar tunnel and was out in mars' sky.

"Need to achieve minimum safe distance from the planet's atmosphere for safe travel."

The ship quickly left mars' atmosphere. The red planet shrunk in size as they went further away.

"Minimum safe distance achieved. Preparing transit. Firing beam."

Shepard, Conrad and Kasumi saw on the screen a green beam of energy fire out. The end sparked outwards as if it hit an invisible object.

"Opening wormhole."

The area that was hit by the energy beam started to warp. The view of the stars was starting to distort until the stars within the circular area did not match what supposed to be there.

"Look at that," Kasumi said.

"Here goes nothing," Shepard muttered.

"Initiating transit," the VI announced.

The Integrity moved towards the tear in space. The three passengers braced themselves as they had no idea what trouble traveling through a wormhole would bring. Nothing happened. The ship didn't shake and suffer in any manner.

"Transit to sector complete," the VI announced.

"That was easy," Conrad commented. "I was expecting a lot of shaking."

"Transit through a stable wormhole is a safe method of transportation," the VI said. "It would put no more strain on a ship than traveling through space."

"So we're here?" Kasumi asked.

"Correct. Distance travelled from previous location: four light years."

"Can you open all comm channels?" Shepard asked.

"Channels are open."

"Can anyone hear me?" he asked. "It's Shepard."

VVVVVV

"Can anyone hear me? It's Shepard."

Everyone stood at attention in the lounge when they heard the Commander's voice. Tali quickly replied to the call, "Keelah, Shepard?"

"Who else?" he jest.

"How did you get here so fast?"

"I found something on mars," Shepard replied. "I'll explain more, but I need to ask. Is EDI alive again?"

"I am here, Commander," EDI said.

"Thank goodness. It worked. The geth are back too."

"How is that possible?" Javik asked. "I thought the Crucible destroyed anything that was even based on reaper tech."

"I'll explain everything. Just everyone head outside. Though we'll need to send someone back to retrieved EDI's core."

"This ship houses adequate storage space and processors for an AI," the VI interjected.

"Who was that?" Garrus asked.

"This ship's VI. I'll see you there."

Not wasting a beat, everyone moved to exit the Normandy. The evacuation was slow as everyone had to use the elevator to go to the CIC. After fifteen minutes everyone exited through the Normandy's airlock. They looked up at the sky and saw an unusual ship.

"What is that?" Vega asked out loud.

"No idea," Liara said. "I've never seen a ship like it."

The vessel landed in the clearing near the Normandy. A platform emerged from the underbelly of the ship. Standing on it was Shepard who was wrapped in bandages from his injuries. Tali walked out in front of the group and watched as the platform lowered.

"Everyone ready to go home?" Shepard asked.

"Shepard!" Tali yelled as she ran towards him.

They embraced.

"Careful I'm tender," he said while holding her.

Tali looked up at him. Through the mask, Shepard could see some tears coming from her eyes.

"When we crashed her, I was worried I wouldn't see you again," she said.

"It's over now," he said. "It's over. And I have great news."

"Yeah?"

"I found a way to get everyone home."

"What?"

"This ship was created by remnants of the first civilization working with the prothean scientists on mars. It can go anywhere in the galaxy instantly."

"How's that even possible?"

"It generates negative energy to create stable wormholes. We can use it to go to Rannoch. We don't need the mass relays anymore."

"This is wonderful news!"

Shepard scanned the group. "What is everyone waiting around for? We're going home."

"What about the Normandy, Shepard?" Joker asked.

Shepard's sight finally fell upon the ruined ship. He was sadden to see the ship in the shape it was in. "She's been through a lot. We'll have people come back and see what they can do. For now the Sol system is waiting for its heroes."

VVVVVV

Hackett stood at the observation deck, leaning against the railing, watching the salvage operation of the reaper corpses. After the meeting he was just in, the future looked uncertain. Shepard assured him that he found a solution to their problems. Shortly after that communication, Shepard and his team vanished and an unusual energy signature was briefly detected above mars.

"Admiral?" the dreadnaught's pilot called out over the ship's comm.

"Yes, lieutenant?" he answered.

"Remember that unusual energy signature we detected over mars?"

"Yes."

"It's back only it's now about a hundred clicks away from earth."

Hackett pushed himself off of the railing and spun around to rush out of the observation deck. "I want this ship ready for anything. We are investigating that signal."

"Yes, sir."

The dreadnaught groaned as it flew towards its destination. By the time Hackett made it to the bridge they had already reach their destination.

"What are we looking at here?" Hackett asked his XO.

"A very unusual energy reading," she answered. "Us detecting it over mars was the first time. Though look. We can see the anomaly." She pulled up a video. It showed the distortion in space.

"What is it?"

"No clue, sir."

They both saw something coming out of the anomaly.

"What-"

"Open comm channels," Hackett ordered.

"Channels are open," the XO said.

"Commander? Is that you?"

A video channel came up over Hackett's omni-tool. The video was of Shepard sitting in a chair with a panel in front of him and a quarian to his side. "This is Shepard, Admiral."

"What the hell is that?"

"A ship I found on mars," Shepard answered. "It's able to create stable wormholes. I have a report about it."

"I want you to get on my ship. A lot has happened in the little time you were away."

"We're heading over."

VVVVVV

Shepard, Tali, Liara, Javik, Ashley, EDI, Joker and Vega walked into Hackett's war room. Hackett stood there with Shepard's report in hand.

"You pulled through for us again, Commander," Hackett said. "Our engineers are going over the schematics the Integrity has provided us. This will allow the other races to return to their homes."

"Doing my job, Admiral," Shepard said.

Hackett nodded. "I'll have to look at our recruitment pamphlets from thirteen years ago. I'm pretty sure uniting the races of the galaxy to form the largest armada in galactic history and saving the galaxy half a dozen times is not part of your job description. You went far and beyond the call of duty. The Alliance is planning a ceremony to pin about every meal we have available and some that don't exist yet. Even word is going around that the other races are planning to offer their own commendations. Though that's not the important thing I mentioned earlier."

"And what is?"

"Shortly after the meeting you had with the representatives of the fleets, there was another meeting. This time it was with the Council and the fleet representatives. When you ran into the Council, it was during the recess."

"I'm guessing things didn't go so well for Councillor Sparatus to be in the mood he was in."

"Not well for them," Hackett said. "The whole meeting basically boiled down to everyone chastising the Councillors, save for Osoba, for not acting on your warnings."

"How did the meeting conclude?" Liara asked.

"A change in government structure. Everyone now knows that the Asari hid that prothean beacon on thessia. The same beacon that could have warned us ages ago about the reaper threat. Basically the asari are no longer the head of the Council. The salarians took a blow when Wrex revealed the recording of the Dalatrass threatening to cut support for the war due to the genophage. Tevos, Sparatus and Velarn are stepping down and the Council is being reformed to include all races."

"That's good news," Tali said.

"Yes, it was the first bit of good news we had since this war ended," Hackett said. "But Shepard's discovery now puts what we did to shame. We can rebuild our galactic civilization. I thought you should know, Commander... There have been calls that you should take over as human Councillor."

"Eh, I'll pass," Shepard said. "Though if I could ask for a certain position..."

"Go ahead."

"I wish to be the Alliance's liaison with the quarians on Rannoch."

Hackett saw Shepard and Tali holding hands. He gave a soft quiet laugh. "Granted. New government. New method of travel. I wonder what the future holds for us."

VVVVVV

After the discovery of the Integrity, the fleets around earth worked together to form the new ships to allow them to go home. With the cooperation of all the races, the galaxy was able to rebuild itself within a couple of decades. While the turians, asari and salarians still play a prominent role in politics, it is not the same level as it once was. Power was now shared among the races.

After helping to lead the largest fleet in galactic history, Admiral Hackett was made the head of the Alliance government. Osoba continued as humanity's representative on the Council for many years and continued Shepard's spirit of cooperation and humility. Admiral Anderson was hailed as a hero for his efforts against the reapers and his support of Commander Shepard. He was posthumously awarded the Alliance Medal of Honour and was granted a burial site in London with a bronze statue of him over his tomb. A plate under the statue had choice words printed on it:

Admiral David Anderson

First human Councillor

A soldier who didn't let the ills of the galaxy to corrupt him.

Who fought for what he believed in and died ensuring it still existed.

The rachni were considered redeemed due to their efforts in building the Crucible and the mission to retake earth. They are a member of the Council and their queen continues to teach her children about the mercy the human commander had bestowed upon them twice.

The krogan were once again hailed as heroes for their efforts in retaking palaven and earth. With the return of Wrex, the krogan clans organized to start rebuilding tuchanka. With the duel rulership of Wrex and Bakara, the krogan's future looked bright. To ensure another krogan rebellion never happened again, Bakara and the female clans instituted rules and guidelines to control their reproduction rate.

Jacob Taylor became guard detail for Councillor Osoba. He had a daughter with his wife, Brynn Cole. Despite all of the pleas to name the child after someone close to Shepard, they finally settled on Karin.

Jack continued her services to the Alliance as a teacher of biotic students. Her rage vanished as she finally found a place where she belonged.

Kasumi Goto vanished shortly after the battle for earth... Along with tens of thousands of credits worth of technology.

Zaeed Massani retired from mercenary life but still wanders the galaxy looking for a place to settle down. His tale of the battle for earth is the only one he will tell in the bars that doesn't end with "And I was the only one who made it out alive."

Thane Krios was given a proper burial by the priests of his people and was remembered for his sacrifice in protecting the salarian Councillor. His son later joined C-Sec in memory of his father.

Grunt continued his successful career as the commanding officer of Aralahk company. After butting in enough heads, the new recruits stopped taking issue with his birth.

Miranda Lawson joined the Alliance as an Intelligence officer and continues to protect humanity.

Samara returned to the planet Lesuss where, with her daughter's help, she rebuilt the monastery back to its former glory.

Mordin Solus is remembered by the STG, the krogan and the galaxy for curing the genophage and helping save the galaxy. His autobiography was written by Padok Wiks and is a best seller. All the money made from the autobiography went towards helping tuchanka rebuild.

Jeff "Joker" Moreau and EDI continued their relationship. While they don't know what the future holds for them, they are doing everything they can to make it work out. Joker was commended for his efforts to help Shepard in his many missions and was given the Medal of Honour.

Liara T'Soni continued as the Shadow Broker and rebuilt her former empire. Her information network now far exceeds that of the original Broker. She constantly reminds herself of Shepard to keep herself in line with this much power and so continues to keep stability in the galaxy.

James Vega shortly after the war joined the N7 program and graduated. After a successful career, he was offer Spectrehood.

Ashley Williams continued as a Spectre and fought to preserve the new galaxy. She at times still gets chastised for some of her actions, such as the events that happened during the coup, but she continues to fight nonetheless.

Javik, with the help of Liara, wrote several books about the protheans. He toured the galaxy to finally see the sights he only dreamed of seeing. The galaxy was free of the reaper threat and now the spirits of the past and he can finally be at peace.

Garrus Vakarian's efforts against the reapers was commended by his people. He served as a special advisor to Primarch Victus. After the death of Victus, Garrus was next in line to be the Primarch of palaven. Despite his new responsibilities, Garrus still makes time to see his friends.

The geth's integration into the galactic community was... awkward to say the least. Many still remembered when the heretics worked for the reapers. But the geth slowly joined the civilizations of the galaxy. With the geth's help, the quarians were soon freed from their suits and were free to feel the air of Rannoch on their faces.

Shepard was promoted to the rank of Admiral. The Alliance called this promotion long overdue. Shepard became the Alliance's liaison with the quarians. About a month after the war, Shepard and Tali'Zorah went through a bonding ritual. They claimed land in the southern continent and built the house that Tali always dreamed of living in one day. With the reaper threat gone, Shepard was finally free to live his own life and create a future with his wife.


End file.
